Is Smoked Salmon Healthy?

Smoked salmon can be a nutritious addition to your diet.

Smoked salmon can be used to top bread or bagels or in sandwiches, made into a spread or added to omelets, frittatas, scrambled eggs or pasta salads. It provides a number of essential nutrients, including omega-3 fats, but is not recommended for everyone due to potential food-safety concerns, especially for those with weakened immune systems.

Macronutrients

A 3-ounce serving of smoked Chinook salmon contains 99 calories, 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of fat, including 1 gram of saturated fat. This is 6 percent of the daily value for total fat and 4 percent of the DV for saturated fat. Smoked salmon doesn't contain a significant amount of carbohydrates.

Micronutrients

Smoked salmon is a good source of vitamins and minerals. One serving provides you with 2.8 micrograms of vitamin B-12, or 46 percent of the DV for this vitamin essential for brain function and forming DNA and red blood cells. It also contains 4 milligrams of niacin, which is important for proper circulation and a healthy nervous system, or 20 percent of the DV. Phosphorus helps with nerve and muscle function, storing energy and repairing tissues, and smoked salmon provides 139 milligrams per serving, or 14 percent of the DV. The 0.2 milligram of vitamin B-6 contained in smoked salmon, or 12 percent of the DV, will help with your immune function and cognitive development, and the 0.1 milligram of riboflavin, or 5 percent of the DV, will help with producing red blood cells and carbohydrate metabolism.

Omega-3 Fats

Omega-3 fats are one of the two essential types of fatty acids, along with omega-6 fats. Seafood, like smoked salmon, is one of the better sources for this type of fat, which is involved in brain development and may help lower your risk for heart disease and dementia. A 3-ounce serving of smoked salmon provides you with 445 milligrams of omega-3 fats, which is 89 percent of the 500 milligrams per day of omega-3 fats recommended by the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association.

Food Safety

Smoked salmon can contain Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen which can cause the food-borne illness listeriosis. Most healthy individuals don't suffer severe complications from this type of food poisoning, so smoked salmon is considered safe for them to eat, but people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, elderly individuals and infants have very high mortality rates from listeriosis and should avoid consuming cold smoked fish, including smoked salmon. Keep smoked salmon in the fridge and use it within two weeks. Smoked salmon is more risky to consume because it is not cooked before you eat it. A less risky alternative would be cooked salmon.